Armenia to receive $315 million in loans from IMFJune 4, 2020 - 16:53 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia will receive $315 million in loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will be used to finance budget programs. The government on Thursday, June 4 approved the Stand-By Arrangement signed between the country and the IMF on May 23 and June 1. Finance Minister Atom Janjughasyan said that the world economy is expected to shrink by 3.5% in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, which can't but affect Armenia's budget. "It is expected that the decline will lead to a reduction in tax revenues, which in turn will lead to an increase in the deficit if the same level of spending is maintained," Janjughazyan told a government meeting. "Debt financing requires the inclusion of borrowed funds, which will automatically lead to an increase in debt. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Armenia to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. U.S. reacts to Russia’s criticism of upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting Matthew Miller has weighed in on Russia’s criticism of an upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting. Lavrov sees ‘collapse’ of Russia’s ties with Armenia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has underscored heightened tensions between Russia and Armenia. Russia clarifying reports on Baku’s alleged arms supply to Ukraine Russia says is carefully working to verify reports about alleged arms supplies from Azerbaijan to Ukraine |